Chapter 46
Blessed Art Thou
Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy. All OC's are mine, thank you
Blessed Art Thou:
What was this? Since when could she feel anything in this black realm that she had come to call her life? Wasn't she dead? But this feeling of pain was all too real…was her body still alive?
"How could that be?" She spoke out loud knowing none could hear. The air around her was cold she knew from the mist her warm breath caused but she still couldn't feel that.
She gasped and doubled over in the endless void of her consciousness, pain was shooting up her back causing her dulled eyes to squeeze shut tightly.
'Gods…even in this darkness that I have succumb too, that same darkness that offered refuge from all that pain…why now all of this?' Another wave of pain worse than the first and her eyes few open…
An unreal light like nothing she'd ever seen before blinded her upon opening her eyes. Her vision went dark again then exploded into an array of colors. She blinked several times but her sight refused to focus, so she gave up and tried to locate where all the pain was coming from.
'Child…do not be frightened, this pain will be gone soon enough. I apologize for waking you before you were ready but there was no other way,' a calm voice entered her muffled thoughts and easily pushed away everything but his voice.
'Who are you?! What's wrong with me?' She gasped out loud as more pain consumed her; blackness was in her vision once more offering its refuge.
Searing head and light pressure on her forehead drove the black away. Her vision focused for the slightest moment and she knew there was at least one person there with his hand on her burning head.
"Shhh," he soothed softly smoothing some of her stray gold hairs back away from her pale face. He disappeared from her vision once more and the pain started to subside. 'It's over child…you may sleep once more…I'll continue to watch over you as I should have years ago.'
Dull aqua-green eyes slowly closed once more and the young girl slipped back into the coma that had claimed the last few months of her life and would continue too until she finally woke naturally…if she ever woke again…
****
"Damn it Zack, don't you ever need to sit down? Why do you keep dragging me out into the city like this?" Sephiroth growled at the younger man who stopped and looked at him innocently.
"Well," Zack chimed scratching the back of his head. "Because nobody else will?" he offered with a laugh as the general rolled his eyes.
"If you were anyone else, Zack, I'd knock you senseless right here and now," Sephiroth sighed shaking his head.
"I don't doubt you would, you're just out right mean sometimes!" the Lieutenant General teased.
Sephiroth down cast his eyes as memory of what brought him to this. "Zack…you know…"
Zack gasped as he suddenly remembered too. "Aw, sorry man. I really didn't mean to bring up those memories. I was just trying to get you to lighten up a little."
Sephiroth sat down at an outdoor café table and motioned for Zack to do the same; he did silently, he could tell Sephiroth wanted to say something that was on his mind.
Sephiroth tapped his gloved fingers on the table for a short time. Was he really going to spill his secret about his only other friend to this new one? "Zack," he started slowly, the black-haired SOLDIER remained perfectly silent listening for every word that would be said. "It's not that I want to forget Daitona, that's the last thing I want to do. To forget is worse than death, and she was the only friend I had for a long time. We were trained as SOLDIERs together, treated the same way, we were childhood buddies since the first time we really met. I admired her because she was everything I could never be, but she proved me wrong there…she was only my other half. I loved her…" Sephiroth gritted his teeth, it was hard to tell anyone after so long of trying to keep it all to himself, but he knew he could trust Zack.
'I knew it! He did love her!' Zack congratulated himself then waited for his platinum-haired friend to continue.
Sephiroth growled and hit his fist against the table lightly. "Yes, I really did love her…as a friend always, then other things as I grew older attracted me to her. She became my wife after she destroyed Fort Natic…" 'There! I said it…it feels like I just threw off a load from my shoulders…'
Zack was a picture of shock. He had been proud before that he had gotten his superior to admit his love for another but their MARRIAGE! He'd had no clue!
"Excuse me?" he chocked out after several minutes of silence. "I don't think…"
"You heard me right," Sephiroth interrupted. "Daitona was my wife."
'Aw damn…'
****
'Voices? How long has it been? I've been so tired, are these the people who saved me?' Thoughts drifted back into her recovering mind, it had been a long time she felt…and there was something nagging at her. Perhaps something best forgotten…but then why did it feel so important?
The women examined the body that was submerged in a make-do mako tank. The young girl seemed lifeless inside. She had remained in a coma ever since 'he' brought her there to her spacious cave…but was once forced out of it for causes beyond their control. "She's been this way for six and a half months…" Her near fatal wound, she remembered all too well treating, was nearly completely healed now, but still she stayed in a sleep like state.
"She's training her mind you know?" another voice commented gently. His voice was soft and unfamiliar to the youth's ears…but to her mind his voice was all too familiar but she didn't recognize that.
"Oh!" the woman cried in relief and turned to the man. "Dezeray, it's just you, you startled me," she stated with a short laugh, putting her small hand over her rapidly beating heart. "You know you shouldn't be up yet. You're still weak from your last injuries…"
Dezeray ignored the woman's plea and looked more intently at the form floating within the mako. "She's not sleeping…" His voice was in awe. "She's listening to us right now, Lucrecia."
'How does he know I can hear them? Am I awake as he says? Who are these strange people?' With some difficulty, Daitona forced her eyes open for the first time in months. It took a bit for them to adjust to the liquid surrounding her, then to focus on either of the blurred forms standing away from the tank.
The man, Dezeray, was standing closest. He had long beautiful white hair that looked to be streaked and tented with a soft red. His eyes were almost hypnotic bright aqua, he looked to be in his early twenties, stood about a head taller than Lucrecia, and had strange markings on his cheeks that were, were not too unlike her own only much darker, almost black in color.
The woman, Lucrecia, was medium sized, had long golden brown hair and eyes, and looked to be somewhere in her early forties. All in all, they both seemed like fairly nice people…just from looks and what little she had heard of them from their talking.
"See, what did I tell you?" Dezeray smiled to Lucrecia, then looked back to Daitona. "You ok? Maybe you'd like to come out of there now?" He nodded to himself and pushed a button that was located next to the tank made of glass and steel. The liquid it held just then was deadly to him but he was unworried about that little fact at that moment.
The thick glowing greenish liquid started to drain out the bottom of the tank into a drain built into it and the floor to return to the planet. As the level lowered Daitona sank down with it, her muscles too weak to support her and her knees refusing to obey her command to stand. The large mask over a good part of her nose and mouth was giving off something now that made it easy to breath but made her feel a bit lightheaded.
When the level of mako was low enough, the door hissed open and strong hands lifted her up and out of the tank. She was wrapped in a large soft blanket then pulled into Dezeray's arms for support.
"There you go now," Dezeray stated softly to her, she was shivering from the sudden change in temperature even though she had the blanket for warmth. "You feeling better now? You probably don't remember very much on how you got here do you?"
Daitona could only shake her head numbly in her answer of 'no'.
He smiled warmly once more. "That's ok. I brought you here a little over six months ago. You were hurt pretty badly from a gunshot wound to your right shoulder and a nasty stab wound to your chest. The stab wound; pretty close to the heart, and bruised your lungs pretty bad and nearly caused one to collapse from being punctured. Lost quite a bit of blood too. Lucky for you, my friend Lucrecia here use to be a scientist and doctor. She was able to get the bullet out of your shoulder and fix most all the damage caused by that sword then stitch you up. Since your blood has already been enhanced with the planets lifeblood, bathing you in it would only help you heal more quickly. I think you may have been working out something else though, emotions, or perhaps some problem; while in there because you should have woke up some time ago."
Daitona bowed her head a bit and just shivered, it really was cold. Being wet and apparently in some kind of cave…who were these people and why were they helping her? And there was something about Dezeray, something strangely familiar that her mind just couldn't quite grasp at that moment. She just couldn't put her finger on it…
'I feel so empty…what am I forgetting?'
****
It had been a little less than a day since Daitona was released form the mako tank. She was feeling quite comfortable now that she had been able to take a nice long, hot shower; had been feed, clothed, and had had a nice night of sound sleep. Now with that all done she had nothing else to do, so she explored the remarkably large cave system that she was apparently living in. There were lots of tunnels to look through so Daitona wasn't complaining, she'd always loved exploring new palaces but in the past it had only gotten her into more trouble. But not here, here there was no one to yell at her.
She was about to pass by a door, but stopped when she heard Dezeray talking with Lucrecia. Since the door was already partly open she decided to take a peak.
Lucrecia was in middle of saying something: "…like you." She paused then asked: "Who was her mother?"
"A women by the name of Sasha. You have to admit though," Dezeray chuckled softly, "she is something else. Not entirely human, but not entirely Divinian. She has the best traits of both species."
"Really now, you shouldn't brag about such things. It's not good manners," Lucrecia scolded.
Dezeray laughed softly.
'How does he know such things about me and how does he know my mom?' Daitona wondered. 'Maybe he use to work for Shinra…?'
Dezeray looked towards the door, his smile broadened. "Well hello Daitona. What are you standing out there for? Come on in here."
Daitona froze in sudden shock of being recognized, but then shook it off and came in slowly with caution and looking a bit guilty.
"You were listening to us," he pointed out, his eyes were bright as if he were about to laugh.
"I'm sorry," Daitona spoke for the first time in their presence, her voice was very low.
"Don't be. It was nothing of great importance anyways. I trust you are feeling better this morning?"
"I am…why are you helping me like this? I didn't ask for your help, you know?" Daitona stated softly, she almost wished she hadn't said anything. These people were being nice to her and here she was asking rude questions that made her sound ungrateful. Was she grateful to them at all…wasn't she? Wouldn't have death been better than this life she's endured? And what was this constant nagging feeling of loss and emptiness?
Dezeray's eyes grew soft at seeing the conflict in the young girl's still dull eyes. 'She's confused. I know now I should have took her when I had the chance, but I thought with her friend…Lucrecia's son, I thought together they could do anything they wanted…and they could, but there was only one thing neither of them dared to try…and then she got pregnant.'
"Daitona…"
"How-"
"You told me your name before you passed out when I brought you here from the battlefield in Wutai," Dezeray explained patiently. "I helped you because I couldn't just let you lay out there and bleed to death. There is much you can still do with your life. You are still yet very young…" He watched as her shoulders slumped.
"My life up until now has been a hell in itself. Shinra troops are probably out looking for me right now…" Daitona sniffed at the reality of it all, her mood going into slight depression; emptiness was nagging at her, something was missing…
"They won't find us here," Lucrecia assured gently. "This cave is known to be a dragon's den…"
"A dragon?" Daitona mussed sadly. 'Well, if it isn't still here, there's still a dragon…though I can't exactly use my power right now.'
"He still resides here, but he is no threat to you," Dezeray added.
"Why don't you go rest dear? You look wore out; you've been through a lot and shouldn't push yourself too much right now," Lucrecia advised.
Daitona sighed and nodded her head, not wanting to argue. She was feeling a bit tired anyways…
****
Several days passed when Daitona was suppose to be resting, but she was becoming increasingly antsy. Her strength had returned and she was able to sort out many of her depressing feelings. She has finally concluded, after many hours of hard though…that she had lost hers and Sephiroth's child-thus that empty feeling she kept having. Though it saddened her to conclude that there was no other obvious conclusion. What saddened her most was Sephiroth absents…
'At least he's alive, I can still go see him,' she convinced herself and got over most of the depression she had felt for several days.
On one of those days she was supposed to still be resting she was about to scream in boredom when Dezeray showed up. He sat down next to her then asked, "You know how to use a sword still, don't you?"
"Yes I do," Daitona answered in wonder. Was there really something to do now!?
He bent down and pulled up a sword from under the couch they were sitting on. "Lets see just how good you are. Would you like to spare off with me?"
"Would I!?!"
"I take that as a yes," Dezeray laughed and handed the sword over to her. Daitona had never seen someone so care free in her entire life, except for Shinra of course, but even he had his moments. Dezeray was pleasant to be around, unlike the president, he always seemed to be in a light mood. "Come, follow me," he instructed.
They both stood and he led her through many winding halls until they came into a larger room. There, Dezeray found a sword identical to the one Daitona had and picked it up to test.
"There should be enough room here to test your skills, are you ready?" Dezeray asked after he was sure the sword was safe to use.
Daitona put herself in a battle stance and couldn't help but notice how tight her muscles were. The effect of not working and stretching them enough, she figured and ignored it in favor of studying her new opponent.
Dezeray nodded then took his own stance. "Then, lets begin."
He moved first, he darted towards her at a breathtakingly fast speed and knocked Daitona off balance easily. With no hesitation he went into his next attack and slashed at her feet causing her to have jump or risk being cut by his sword.
When Daitona came back down on both feet she had to immediately duck away from his sword to avoid it making contact with her ribs.
'Why in blazes did he even give me a sword?!' Daitona thought angrily. 'I can't even use it against him for heavens sake! Alls I'm doing is dodging and avoiding HIS attacks.'
"You're wrong, love. You will be able to use that sword when you become quick enough," Dezeray said before he put her on the defense again.
'Did he just call me 'love'? Maybe I was hearing things…of maybe it just slipped?' Daitona thought as she dodged and blocked attack after attack.
She could feel the weariness taking its toll on her quickly and she was becoming slower to her defense. She jumped for a final time, in landing her foot slipped and she fell on her back. The wind was defiantly knocked out of her and she just lay there trying to make herself feel better.
"I think that's enough for now, Dezeray," Lucrecia's voice called from the room's entrance.
Dezeray nodded then moved so he looked down at the sprawled out girl on the floor. "I must admit, you are much faster that I thought you would be. You actually made me break a sweat; not many people can do that."
"You remind me of my best friend, when he would beat me at sword sparing," she breathed. "But only when I first started training with him, I put him in his place with hand-to-hand combat training though." Daitona looked toughly proud of herself.
"Who was your friend?" Lucrecia asked with interest, she really didn't think before asking otherwise she'd never asked.
"Is. His name is Sephiroth." Daitona declined the right to tell them he was also her husband.
Lucrecia had made her way to Daitona's side, but stopped in the act of kneeling down when that name was said. "Really?" she asked longingly, then remembered what all Dezeray had told her. Daitona recognized sorrow, and love in her eyes dark eyes.
"Yes, do you know him?" Daitona asked curiously.
Lucrecia hesitated. "Yes, and no…he is my son. He was taken away from me at birth…I never even got to hold him." A tear escaped down her soft cheek. "I was suppose to die, but the Jenova cells in me wouldn't let me just die. So I came here to live a life of solitude. Then Dezeray came along." She smiled at the past memory. "He's a beautiful person once you get to know him. He made my life easier to live. He kept coming back here, so I allowed him to stay. He protects me here and keeps me company, in return he has a place to live and I take care of him when he is injured. Just like I did you."
"That reminds me," Daitona said recalling a resent memory. "Why did you call me 'love'?" she asked looking at Dezeray.
Dezeray smiled and closed his glowing aqua eyes. "Because, I do love you Daitona. You are the only other being remotely like me on this planet. I know now I should have never left you with those Shinra people, but Pr. Gast promised to keep you safe."
"What?" Daitona stammered.
"You are a Divinian, my blood, my daughter."
****
-End Chapter 46-
A/N: Ok everyone, if you were really wondering about Final Fantasy: Advert Children, have I found the site for you! Go here and you can find a good sum of pictures and other links from the site have info about the movie: